Chinstraps along with many other species of penguins return
to the same colony each year and often settle within a very
short distance of the same nest site. The nest is a very
simple affair of a pile of small stones, the main purpose being
to separate it from other nests and to raise it above the surrounding
ground so that melt-water from snow doesn't wet the eggs or
chicks.

Small stones are often in short supply in the penguin colonies
and so squabbles are commonplace and frequent, particularly
as penguins are experienced kleptomaniacs taking nesting material
from any other nest that is inadequately guarded. Stones go
back and forth and circulate between nearby nests as they are
repeatedly stolen, claimed back and stolen again.

Summer snow falls

Pictures taken in a chinstrap colony following a short and
intense summer snow-fall, most of the penguins had chicks that
were almost large enough to regulate their own temperature and
leave the nest, though probably very fortunately for them, they
were still on the nest being protected by their parents. The
adults on the nests had to play the parental role to the full
protecting the young from the cold wet snow by laying down,
and occasionally getting up to shake off the accumulated snow.

the snowfall was short and with the temperature being just
above freezing, the snow melted fairly quickly and so posed
little or no danger to the young on this occasion.

After the snow had finished the penguins stood up and shook
themselves, the chicks that had been sheltering under the parents
were well and seem to be resenting the fact that mum or dad
had stood up and weren't keeping them quite so snug any more!

The parent on the nests aer awaiting the return of their
partners who will have been out at sea fishing for the krill
that these penguins feed almost exclusively on, catching it
further inshore than other penguin species. The parent that
goes fishing fills themselves up on food and then collects extra
in their stomach to bring back and regurgitate for the chicks.

How much do young penguins
eat?

Chinstrap chicks get fed about once a day on average,
with the returning parent bringing back about 300g of krill.

Fishing trips take the adults around 20-30 kilometres from
the colony, though distances of well over 200 kilometres have
been recorded. The young remain on the nest, looked after in
turns by each parent until they are large enough to maintain
their own body temperature and can wander around freely.

At this point they form a "crÃ¨che" with other chinstrap penguin
chicks, huddling together for protection against the worst of
the weather and predators. It also leaves both parents free
to go fishing so increasing the food supply for the rapidly
growing chick/s.

Pale penguins

Some
species are prone to producing occasional very pale individuals,
known scientifically as "leuchistic" forms or sometimes as "blonde"
penguins.

They are not albinos as they do have pigment (whereas true
albinos lack pigment) but not as much of it as the more normal
members of the species. These penguins would always hang around
the breeding grounds with others of their species, though I
never saw one that had any success in breeding - incubating
eggs, building a nest etc. They just seemed to be a little too
different for the other penguins.

I was looking through your penguin
pics and noticed your comment about leuchistic penguins
not breeding. So I thought you might be interested in the
attached pic (left) of a leuchistic Adelie penguin with
a chick. I took the pic in 1963 on Avian Island (off Adelaide
Island).Mike Fleet

While I saw several leuchistic chinstraps
on Signy I don't recall having seen a leuchistic Adelie,
maybe the result of different gene pools. Interesting that
this one is breeding, maybe adelies are more inclusive than
chinstraps!Paul Ward